Just a 6th Grader

My name is Brooke. This year will be my first year attending middle school.
During the summer I went to get my fingers painted at a nail salon. I was so excited. All summer long I had been doing odd jobs around the house and the neighbors so I could save up to buy my own clothes. My parents couldn’t really afford much and I always had to wear my sisters old clothes and sometimes my brothers too. Kids always picked on me. This year I decided I would do everything I could to be like one of them and fit in. I wanted to show them that I am not all those names that they called me.
While sitting at the salon I was talking to my mom about how I was hoping this school year would be different as I was looking through all the pretty colors. I seen someone getting hot pink and zebra stripes so I asked how much those were. They were $40 for special painted nails and she was getting the fake ones put on. I walked over and sat down. The lady getting her nails done started to talk to me. She asked if this was my first time and told me how she remembered her first time getting her nails done. I told her I was only getting mine painted because that’s all I saved up for. We talked some more about school and college and her job as a travel agent. I told her how hard school was for me and I told her that other kids picked on me. She looked at me and told me that she was once me. She told me how she would go home and cry herself to sleep thinking about what people had called her. I asked her if she ever felt like giving up. She looked right at me with tears going down her cheeks and she said “yes, but I couldn’t let them win. They needed to see that I was a somebody and not just anybody. I went through counseling. I learned that there mean spirited people everywhere. As I got older I learned that it doesn’t matter what people called me. It only mattered what I answered to. So I started to ignore the bullies. Then the name calling started to slow down until it finally stopped.” I was crying too.
When she was all finished the woman that did her nails told her it was $80. I said “$80 for a set of nails? Those must last all year right?” We both chuckled.
She asked if she could hug me. As she hugged me she told me that I was a very special girl. I was going to grow up and do big things and what I was experiencing was a hill in my path to success. I could either climb it or stay at the bottom. She said if I choose to climb it then don’t climb it alone. I have friends and family that will climb it with me. She told me to always smile even when I am hurting. Everyone had a special place in this world. Then she looked at me and said “I paid for you to get the fake nails with a special design. It will only cost you $15 a month to keep up with them. You get your nails done and have a great 6th grade year!” She gave me an Emma card and walked out. My mom and I both cried. I couldn’t believe someone would do something so nice for me. I’m nothing special. She made me feel like I mattered and I had a place in the world. Her words as she hugged me play through my mind every day. I’ve decided to not give up on myself. I’m only 12. I’m going to counseling and I’m going to smile. I’m climbing that hill.
I’m not sure how this website works but if Ashley with the hot pink zebra nails is reading this “thank you for being so kind to me. I have often thought about ending my life. But I know now that I am more than what I am being called. I am a person and I’m special. I wish I could thank you in person and tell you to your face how you’ve changed my life.”